Stephen B. L. Penrose, Jr. Papers, 1908-1990

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Penrose, Stephen B L. (Stephen Beasley Linnard), 1908-1954
Title
Stephen B. L. Penrose, Jr. Papers
Dates
1908-1990 (inclusive)
1919-1955 (bulk)
Quantity
3.1 linear feet, (8 boxes)
Collection Number
WCMss.041
Summary
This collection chiefly contains the correspondence of Stephen B.L. Penrose, Jr., depicting his presidency of the American University in Beirut, Lebanon, from 1948-1954, his involvement with the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), his work with the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), and his views on and advocacy for Palestinian statehood and Palestinian refugees.
Repository
Whitman College and Northwest Archives
Whitman College and Northwest Archives
Penrose Library, Room 130
345 Boyer Avenue
Walla Walla, WA
99362
Telephone: 5095275922
Fax: 5095264785
archives@whitman.edu
Access Restrictions

Collection is open for research.

Languages
English
Sponsor
Funding for encoding this finding aid was partially provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Historical NoteReturn to Top

The following edited excerpts are from the October, 1991 essay "Stephen B.L. Penrose, Jr.: A Biographical Tribute" by Frances Copeland Stickles and from the introduction to the 1993 publication of this collection by Lawrence L. Dodd.

Much of the work of Stephen B.L. Penrose,Jr. can be found to be as applicable today as it was when his speeches were experienced first-hand and his writings newly printed, especially when considering his defense of Palestinian rights just as the modern state of Israel was forming. In 1942, he wrote to his parents from New York about the danger to the Allied cause by an attempt to get a Jewish army organized in Palestine. He believed it would set off an Arab revolt. Until the day of his untimely death in 1954, he continued to voice his concern about Arab-American relations and the rights of the Palestinians. He had just completed six years as president of the American University of Beirut when he died at forty-six. As the Palestinian representative at the United Nations cabled Penrose's widow Margaret "Peggy" Penrose: "The Palestine Arab refugees lost a champion and hero."

At the time of his death, Penrose was America's best-known advocate of Palestinian statehood. He wrote worked tirelessly for better understanding between the Arab World and the United States. "America's stake in the Middle East is fundamentally the possibility of losing World War III before a shot has been fired," he warned an audience at the Delmonico Hotel in New York in January 1951. Two years later, in May 1953, Penrose testified before the United States Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on the Middle East that, "It is no exaggeration to say that upon the solution to the problem of Palestine rests not only the peace of the Middle East but very possibly of the entire world . . . The refugee problem is a psychological one and should not be attacked on a purely statistical basis."

Penrose was the youngest son of Whitman College's president from 1894-1934, Stephen B.L. Penrose, Sr., and Mary Shipman Penrose. Penrose, or "Binks," was born and grew up on the Whitman campus and graduated magna cum laude from that college in 1928, majoring in Greek and chemistry. He went immediately after commencement to Beirut where he taught physics at the American University of Beirut for three years. Among his friends during the Beirut years were Charles Malik, later the Lebanese Ambassador to the United Nations and the United States, and Emile Bustany, an internationally respected engineer and businessman. At Columbia University, where Penrose gained a Ph.D. in philosophy, he met Peggy Dale, who received her M.A. in Spanish studies. They were married in Mexico City so that her parents, American missionaries to the Mexican Indians-her mother a medical doctor and her father an educator-could be present. The new Penrose family had three children: Margaret Dale, Mary Shipman (Polly), and Stephen Beasley Linnard (Stevie) Penrose, III.

Margaret Penrose received her B.A. from Erskine College and her M.A. from Columbia University. Her educational training was in the romance languages and before marrying Penrose she taught, for less than one year, in the American Community School in Mexico City. After marriage she taught Spanish at Whitman College and then began a career of helping her husband and raising a family. Following her husband's death, Margaret was Dean of Students at Scripps College, Claremont, California, from 1956-1962. She then became the assistant to the Dean of the School of Public Health and Director of the Shattuck International House, Harvard University, Boston, Massachusetts, from 1962-1978.

The road to Beirut for the Penrose family was circuitous, as they followed Stephen Penrose as his career path developed. After stints of teaching philosophy and psychology at Whitman College and Rockford College, he took a job with the Near East College Association in New York City as Assistant Director. In this position, the American University of Beirut was one of the six American institutions for which he coordinated recruiting, funding campaigns, and personnel support. He also wrote the history of the first seventy-five years of American University of Beirut, "That They May Have Life". It is still in print.

After World War II broke out, Penrose joined the Office of Strategic Services and went to Cairo, where many of those he recruited to work for him had been his teaching colleagues in Beirut a decade earlier. He added Arabic to his language arsenal. He returned to Washington, D.C. as Deputy Chief of Secret Intelligence, and later became chief. This endeavor transferred him to the European theater and when the war was over, he was decorated by the Dutch and Polish governments and received the Bronze Star from the United States. He was decorated by the Lebanese government posthumously. After the war, Penrose became Special Assistant to U.S. Secretary of Defense James V. Forrestal. When Penrose resigned to return to Beirut, Forrestal wrote him, "I am grateful for your assurance that you will be available to assist us in the future. I only hope that world conditions will never require us to interrupt you in this new venture."

The "new venture" was to be inaugurated as the fourth president of the American University of Beirut. The Penroses arrived in Lebanon in 1948 soon after the partition of Palestine. The third General Conference of UNESCO met in Beirut that fall and Penrose was immediately plunged into cooperative affairs as Advisor to the United States Delegation. These associations continued throughout his presidency. The day before he died he chaired a meeting of UNESCO's International Committee for the Translation of the Classics into Arabic. He was a corporate member-at-large of the American Board of Commissioners of Foreign Missions and kept up ties with Phi Beta Kappa, the American Philosophical Association, and the Royal Central Asian Society of London. His interests were wide-ranging and the contacts and associations, so essential to any fund-raiser, which he brought to bear on his new job, were legion. The Ford Foundation soon became a major donor to the university, and the first American government grant was made to American University of Beirut in 1950. Later his colleagues would say of him that "he steers the University with steadfast faith to a position of renewed strength and esteem throughout the Arab World."

During his six years as president, Penrose established an Arab Studies Program, Schools of Engineering and Agriculture, the Department of Public Administration, an Institute of Economic Research, School of Public Health, the Office of Dean of Students (he had served a year as assistant Dean of Men at Whitman College), and an effective Student Council. New buildings changed the look of the campus-on-the-Mediterranean: the Bechtel School of Engineering, the Jafet Memorial Library, the Gulbenkian Infirmary, faculty apartments, a new wing for the University Hospital, and a classroom building and farm complex for the School of Agriculture. Two Arab vice presidents were appointed.

At the same time, Penrose continued to be a public spokesman for Arab-American relations and to brief every American tourist who ventured to Beirut. Some of these tourists arrived by cruise ship, others on motor bike, and still others, like Dorothy Thompson the journalist, on assignment. The alumni family of Jafet came from Rio de Janeiro to see their library dedicated. Helen Keller came to visit schools for the blind in Lebanon and addressed a university chapel session.

Content DescriptionReturn to Top

The overall focus of this collection features the Beirut period of the lives of Stephen B.L. and Margaret Dale Penrose. The largest series of this collection contains the correspondence to and from Stephen and Margaret. These letters detail their everyday interactions and business endeavors, especially as related to the American University in Beirut. Researchers should note that many letters were generated and received by Margaret before and after his death. Her chronicles of their personal life are rich in detail and add significant depth to a knowledge of their lives in Lebanon. The items relating to Stephen reflect his wide interests and pursuits: professor of philosophy, university president, spy, Palestinian advocate, United States bureaucrat, Congregational Church lay preacher, and devoted family member. The remainder of this collection is divided into series containing photographs, information regarding the American University in Beirut, Penrose's speeches, recognition of his work, his and others' writings on Palestine and its people, transcriptions of interviews, the Near East College Association, his OSS activities, his contributions to Whitman College alumni publications, his death and ensuing tributes, and, a collection of papers based upon research on this collection. In addition, a small yet important series contains a bound copy of the annual reports for the Syrian Protestant College, which was the forerunner of the American University of Beirut. (Please note: for clarity, Stephen is referred to as Penrose.)

Administrative InformationReturn to Top

Acquisition Information

Collection donated to the Whitman College and Northwest Archives by Margaret Dale Penrose in 1991. The accession number is retro-0335.

Related Materials

For items 1 through 5 in series 7, original tapes are in the Whitman College and Northwest Archives Oral History Project Collection. For item 6 in series 7, original tapes are at the Schlesinger Library, Harvard University.

Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top

1:  Penrose's Education, 1919-1934Return to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box Folder
1 1
Walla Walla High School information.
1919-1923
1 1
Copies from Whitman College Beta Theta Pi scrapbook.
1923-1928
1 2
Item 5: Copy of Whitman College transcript.
1931 May 6
2 9
Item 11: Ph.D. dissertation: The Reputation and Influence of Francis Bacon in the Seventeenth Century
1934

2:  Correspondence, reports, photographs, and clippings, 1928-1964Return to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box Folder
1 2
Item 1: Penrose's contract to teach at American University of Beirut
1928 March 5
1 2
Item 2: Note from John Finley to Sir Roland Storrs, regarding article from the New York Times, "Where the East Becomes West," 1928 June 26, page 24, column 4. Penrose was the courier. Editorial on speech to Cyprus Legislative Council.
1928 August 28
1 2
Item 3: 17 letters: Penrose, Sr. to Penrose, Jr. when he was staffite (teacher) at American University of Beirut.
1929 March 22-1930 October 31
1 2
Item 4: 2 letters: Penrose to sister Virginia and to his mother Mary Shipman Penrose describing his ascent of Mt. Hermon, Lebanon.
1931 February 25-1931 March 11
1 3
Item 1: 5 letters: Penrose, Sr. to Penrose, Jr. while the latter was at Columbia University regarding Whitman College information and general news.
1931 October 3 - 1934 January 20
1 3
Item 2: 4 items on Penrose wedding.
1934 June 29
1 3
Item 3: Letter, Clayton Rice to Penrose regarding Penrose's election as moderator of Congregational Church of Washington, North Idaho, and Alaska.
1936 October 23
1 3
Item 4: 2 letters: Shehadi and Penrose regarding possibility of an opening at American University of Beirut.
1936 November 28; 1936 December 24
1 3
Item 5: "Thumb Nail Sketches." Unknown student's views on Whitman College faculty and President Rudolf Alexander Clemens.
circa 1935-1936
1 3
Item 6: Letter, Mary Cheek to Penrose regarding job at Rockford College, Illinois.
1937 August 3
1 3
Item 7: 2 letters: Mary Shipman Penrose to Penrose and Penrose, Jr. to Penrose, Sr. regarding loan Penrose, Sr. took to buy property; Penrose and Margaret Dale Penrose move to New York; Penrose's fund-raising travels for Near East College Association; lease of house in Port Washington, New York.
1938 August 14; 1939 February 9
1 3
Item 8: 14 letters of Penrose, Penrose, Sr., and D.F. (Frank) Baker, , regarding possibilities for Penrose, Jr. position at Whitman; selection of Winslow Anderson as Whitman College's president.
1940 January 27-1941 December 1
1 3
Item 9: 8 letters: Penrose to parents regarding his civilian air watch activities; general family letters; resignation from Near East College Association; acceptance of position with Office of Strategic Services.
1941 December 9 - 1942 May 8
1 4
Item 1: Letter, W.H. Cowles, Jr. to Penrose regarding presidency of Whitworth College.
1938 November 30
1 4
Item 2: 3 letters: Wilfred A. Rowell, Stephen B.L. Penrose, Jr. and Franklin Snyder regarding presidency of Beloit College.
1943 February 17 - 1943 March 3
1 4
Item 3: 12 letters: Exchanges between Henry Sloane Coffin, Penrose, Walter R. Wright, Jr. (resigned president of Robert College, Istanbul), Dean Virginia Gildersleeve, Whitney Shepardson (OSS), Bayard Dodge, president American University of Beirut, and Albert W. Staub, director Near East College Association, regarding presidency of Robert College.
1943 October 30 -1944 March 21
1 4
Item 4: 5 letters : Exchanges between Albert Staub, Penrose, Mary Shipman Penrose, Bayard Dodge, and Whitney Shepardson regarding presidency of American University of Beirut for Penrose.
1943 February 5 - 1943 December 29
1 4
Item 5: Letter, John A. Wilson to Penrose regarding job as cultural attache in Near East for State Department.
1943 June 4
1 4
Item 6: 2 letters: Frank G. Ensign to trustees of Miami University, and Frank G. Ensign to Penrose regarding possibility of Penrose as president of Miami University.
1945 March 2
1 4
Item 7: 11 letters: Bertam Bennett, Penrose, and James McConaughy regarding presidency of Knox College.
1946 February 19 - 1946 April 19
1 4
Item 8: Letter, Ernest D. Jeffs to Penrose.
1947 October 29
1 5
Item 1: 14 letters to and from Penrose Jr. and Penrose Sr. regarding UN and US action on Palestine.
1948 September 9-1948 September 23
1 5
Item 2: Letter, Penrose to Whitman Alumnusregarding letter and article about his reasons for going to the Middle East and hopes for the American University in Beirut
1948 February 7
1 6
10 letters from and to Penrose accepting American University of Beirut presidency
1947 December 30-1948 May 13
1 7
17 letters: Margaret Dale Penrose and Penrose to family. Also letters to Margaret and Penrose.
1948 September-1948 November 18
1 8
Item 1: 6 letters: Margaret Dale Penrose to family.
1948 November 20 -1948 December 29
1 8
Item 2: 2 letters: Penrose to W.H. Cowles of the Spokesman Reviewand Cowles to Mary Shipman Penrose.
1948 December 8; 1948 December 16
1 8
Item 3: 2 letters: Rudolph Pauly to Penrose and Penrose to cousin Fan.
1948 December 18; 1948 December 19
1 8
Item 4: 2 letters: Mary Shipman Penrose to Penrose and Penrose to Mary Shipman Penrose.
1948 October 26; 1948 December 27
1 8
Item 5: Letter, Margaret Dale Penrose to Frances and Parker Hall, regarding American University of Beirut, refugees, and summer of first year.
1948 December
1 8
Item 6: Letter from Heidel Pauly to Margaret, invitation card (undated), card to Margaret from Meline L.D. Mugrditchian (undated), and Marquettes D'Art Exhibition card (undated).
1948 December
1 9
Item 1: 15 letters: Margaret Dale Penrose and Penrose to family regarding refugee camp work.
1949 January 6 - 1949 April 7
1 9
Item 2: 14 letters: Margaret Dale Penrose and Penrose to family regarding American University of Beirut campus, president's house affairs, American visitors to Beirut and American University of Beirut, including Allen Dulles and Justice William O. Douglas.
1949 April 14 - 1949 July 11
1 9
Item 3: Bulletin of the Near East Society, Volume 2, Number 8, Penrose, regarding hike with Justice William O. Douglas.
1 10
Item 1: 13 letters: Margaret Dale Penrose and Penrose to family regarding campus, president's house affairs, vacation in Cyprus, and American visitors.
1949 July 10 - 1949 October 6
1 10
Item 2: 11 letters: Margaret Dale Penrose and Penrose to family regarding visit to Palestinian refugee camps, trip to Palestine, and Israeli treatment of Arabs.
1949 October 24 - 1949 December
1 11
Item 1: Letter, Milton Eisenhower to Penrose regarding Unesco.
1949 January 3
1 11
Item 2: Letter, Luther Evans to Penrose regarding Unesco.
1949 January 5
1 11
Item 3: Letter, Eleanor Roosevelt to Margaret Dale Penrose .
1949 January 27
1 11
Item 4: Letter, Penrose to Palestinian students regarding appeal for help.
1949 February 27
1 11
Item 5: American University of Beirut field day program.
1949
1 11
Item 6: 2 letters: Mrs. Rudolph Pauly, American University of Beirut staff and Whitman alumni, to Margaret Dale Penrose and Rudolph Pauly to Penrose.
1949 July 15; 1949 July 18
1 11
Item 7: Letter, announcement of Harry Hall's retirement from Trans-Arabian Pipeline Company .
1949 July 26
1 11
Item 8: Letter, Ross McCain, President of Agnes Scott College, to Margaret Dale Penrose.
1949 August 23
1 11
Item 9: 2 letters: American University of Beirut student to Margaret Dale Penrose and an American University of Beirut student to Penrose .
1949 November 14; 1949 September 9
1 11
Item 10: Letter, Alford Carleton, President of Aleppo College, to Penrose .
1949 October 1
1 11
Item 11: Letter, W.L. White to Mary Shipman Penrose, regarding allusions to Arab and Israeli problem.
1949 October 14
1 11
Item 12: Poem from staffite (teacher) Tim Andrews to Penrose.
1949
1 11
Item 13: Letter, Mark Ethridge Louisville Times to Penrose.
1949 November 18
1 11
Item 14: 2 thank you notes to Margaret Dale Penrose.
1949 December
1 12
Item 1: 9 letters: Margaret Dale Penrose and Penrose to family regarding refugees and Penroses' hepatitis.
1950 January 5 - 1950 February 24
1 12
2: 14 letters: Margaret Dale Penrose and Penrose to family, , regarding trip to United States, trip to Aleppo, trip to Jerusalem, and general campus and household news.
1950 February 27 - 1950 August 26
1 12
Item 3: 12 letters: Margaret Dale Penrose and Penrose to family regarding vacation in mountains, general campus and household news, and Dorothy Thompson's visit.
1950 September 8 - 1950 December 26
1 12
Item 4: Letter, John Kelly, Walla Walla Union-Bulletin, to Margaret Dale Penrose and Penrose.
Letter, John Kelly, Walla Walla Union-Bulletin, to Margaret Dale Penrose and Penrose.
1950 January 4
1 12
Item 5: Letter, Sarah Shahla to Margaret Dale Penrose regarding care of Penrose children while parents were in United States
1950 May 4
1 12
Item 6: Letter, United States Representative Frances Bolton, R-Ohio, to Margaret Dale Penrose and Penrose.
1950 June 17
1 12
Item 7: Letter, Cleveland Dodge to Margaret Dale Penrose regarding grant for 800 dollars for two students.
1950 October 13
1 12
Item 8: Letter, request for loan from Penrose and promissory note.
1950 September 18
1 12
Item 9: Letter, editorial response to Penrose's speech at Lebanese Club on education in Lebanon.
1950 November 28
1 12
Item 10: 4 letters: Clyde Baird, of the Red Cross, to Margaret Dale Penrose, , regarding thank you notes for work with Palestinian refugees. One report from Margaret Dale Penrose regarding refugee activities in Lebanon.
1950 March 21 - 1950 December
1 12
Item 11: 4 letters: thanking Margaret Dale Penrose for hospitality, including one from Henry Luce.
1950 January 5 - 1950 December 6
1 13
Item 1: 15 letters: Margaret Dale Penrose and Penrose to family regarding visit to Kuwait on American University of Beirut business, student demonstrations, trip to Cyprus, trip to Egypt, and Penrose in United States
1951 January 2 - 1951 April 24
1 13
Item 2: 12 letters: Margaret Dale Penrose and Penrose to family regarding dedication of Jafet Library at American University of Beirut, trip to Europe, American University of Beirut affairs, and social schedule.
1951 May 1 - 1951 September
1 13
Item 3: 10 letters: Margaret Dale Penrose and Penrose to family regarding Penrose's visit to Ford Foundation and results, student demonstrations, American University of Beirut news and politics, general news, and Middle East politics.
1951 September 21- 1951 December 27
1 13
Item 4: 7 letters: Frances Copeland to Mary Shipman Penrose regarding life with Penroses.
1950 December 10 - 1952 June 27
1 13
Item 5: Letter, N.W. Boustany to Penrose regarding comments on Penrose's. speech about Lebanese education.
1951 January 6
1 13
Item 6: Report about Arab refugees.
1951 April 17
1 13
Item 7: Letter of Elfan Rees to Margaret Dale Penrose regarding World Council of Churches.
1951 May 1
1 13
Item 8: Letter of George Scherer to Penrose regarding application for job.
1951 June 25
1 13
Item 9: Letter of American University of Beirut student to Penrose regarding letter of appreciation.
1951 September 22
1 13
Item 10: American University of Beirut press release regarding student demonstrations.
1951 October 25
1 13
Item 11: Letter of M.Y. Hussayni to Penrose regarding student demonstrations.
1951 October 27
1 13
Item 12: Letter of Zeine Zeine to Margaret Dale Penrose regarding student demonstrations.
1951 November 6
1 13
Item 13: Student leaflet from Student League of Lebanon.
1951 October
1 13
Item 14: Article about student demonstrations.
1951
1 13
Item 15: Chester Davis to Penrose, Christmas card.
1951 December
1 13
Item 16: "Think For Yourself"
1951
1 13
Item 17: Letter, Anis Frayha to Penrose.
1951
1 14
Item 1: 12 letters: Margaret Dale Penrose and Penrose to family regarding general activities, trip to Aleppo, and visits of Eleanor Roosevelt, Helen Keller, and Dorothy Thompson.
1952 January 6 - 1952 May 26
1 14
Item 2: Letter, Wilson Compton to Penrose.
1952 March 17
1 14
Item 3: Letter, Margaret Dale Penrose to Penrose.
1952 March 19
1 14
Item 4: Letter, Belle Dale Poole, Margaret's sister, to Dale family.
1952 April 14
1 15
Item 1: 8 letters: Margaret Dale Penrose to family.
1952 June - 1952 December
1 15
Item 2: 3 letters: Penrose to Margaret Dale Penrose.
1952 August 28 - 1952 October 13
1 15
Item 3: 3 letters: Penrose to family and associates.
1952 July 15 - 1952 August 23
1 15
Item 4: Receipt for student loan from Penrose.
1952 June 11
1 15
Item 5: Letter, Subhi Ghosheh to unknown recipient regarding Margaret Dale Penrose.
1952 June 23
1 15
Item 6: Letter, W.W. Brubacher to Margaret Dale Penrose.
1952 July 30
1 15
Item 7: Letter, Muriel Lester to Margaret Dale Penrose.
1952 August 4
1 15
Item 8: Letter, Charles Hamilton to Penroses.
1952 January 2
1 15
Item 9: Letter, Fawzi Saba to Penrose.
1952 May 31
1 16
Item 1: 11 letters: Margaret Dale Penrose and Penrose to family.
1953 August 25 - 1953 November 29
1 16
2: Letter, Penrose to associates regarding trip to Brazil.
1953 May 19
1 16
4 letters: from and to Margaret Dale Penrose and Penrose.
1953 March 31 - 1953 December 20
1 16
Letter, Penrose to General Smith.
1953 May 24
1 16
Letter, Fadwa Khuri Racy to Margaret Dale Penrose and Penrose.
1953 May 25
1 16
Item 6: Letter, James M. Ansara to Penrose.
1953 June 2
1 17
Item 1: 6 letters: Margaret Dale Penrose to family regarding Communist student demonstrations.
1954 January - 1954 April 3
1 17
Item 2: Telegram, Penrose to Margaret Dale Penrose.
1954 April 1
1 17
Item 3: Letter, Margaret Dale Penrose to Peg Smith regarding Penrose's health.
1954 March 3
1 17
Item 4: Salary report.
1954 January 18
1 18
Photographs
2 1
Item 1: 7 letters: Margaret Dale Penrose to family and one Penrose to family regarding description of trip to Damascus, Amman, Petra, Aqaba, Maan, and Jerash; and Penrose's trip to visit King Saud of Saudi Arabia.
1954 April 12 - 1954 November 30
2 1
Item 2: Beirut Community Church Bulletin regarding Sunday school.
1954 October 17
2 1
Item 3: Schedule for visit of nine units of the United States 6th Fleet Navy Fleet to Beirut.
1954 November 11 - 1954 November 15
2 2
6 letters: Penrose, Harold Hoskins, and Jay Baldwin regarding financial status of American University of Beirut president
1954 July 2 - 1954 November 24
2 3
Item 1: 3 letters: Margaret Dale Penrose to family regarding Penrose's death and funeral
1954 December - 1955 January
2 3
Item 2: Letter, Mary (Maysie) Penrose Copeland to family regarding Penrose's death and funeral.
1954 December 12
2 4
22 letters: to Margaret Dale Penrose, Penrose, "Mr. Jacobs," and Dr. Robert Dyer regarding appreciation for hospitality and relief work
1954 January 9 - 1954 December 8
2 5
18 letters: to Margaret Dale Penrose, and one to Near East College Association from Levon N. Zenian,
1955 January 7-1955 December 22
2 6
11 letters: Margaret Dale Penrose to American University of Beirut, and one to Bob Hardy from Near East College Association's Jay Baldwin regarding financial and travel arrangements after Penrose's death
1954 December 31 - 1955 August 27
2 7
14 letters to and from Margaret Dale Penrose, and two newspaper articles regarding American University of Beirut and Middle East news, American Friends of the Middle East, and Student Aid Fund
1956 January 30 - 1964 December 12

3:  American University of Beirut and related papers, 1866-1961Return to Top

This series contains programs, reports, clippings from Penrose's tenure at the university, along with historical information, especially relating to the Syrian Protestant College. In addition, several items on the Near Ast College Association are in this series.

Container(s) Description Dates
Box Folder
7 1
Bound copy of the annual reports, Board of Managers, Syrian Protestant College
1866-1902
4 2
Item 1: Near East Service quarterly, 75th anniversary of American University of Beirut.
1941 November
4 2
Item 2: Near East College Association publication with a description of all the colleges in the association.
1960
4 2
Item 3: "'The American University of Beirut, International College and Damascus College, 1910-1948," by Bayard Dodge.
1948 June
2 10
Item 1: Brief American University of Beirut history prepared for Penrose inauguration.
1948 September
2 10
Item 2: Al-Kulliyah Alumni News Bulletin.
1948 November
2 10
Item 3: Penrose's inauguration photo.
1948 September
2 10
Item 4: American University of Beirut inauguration announcement.
1948 October
2 10
Item 5: Inaugural remarks by Harold Hoskins. Inauguration speech of Penrose.
1948 October 1
2 10
Item 6: Letter, John Dale, Margaret's father, to Penrose.
1948 October 1
2 10
Item 7: Cable of congratulations from Bayard, past president of American University of Beirut, and Mary Dodge.
1948 September 29
2 10
Item 8: American University of Beirut inauguration program.
1948 October 1
2 10
Item 9: Press release on inauguration.
1948 September
2 11
Item 1: List of people who sent congratulatory letters to Penrose on appointment to American University of Beirut presidency.
2 11
Item 2: 65 letters of congratulation.
1947 December 29-1948 October 21
2 8
Item 1: American University of Beirut hymn by Stephen B.L. Penrose, Jr. and Margaret Dale Penrose.
1950
2 8
Item 2: Favorite poems of Stephen B.L. Penrose, Jr.
2 8
Item 3: Penrose's vitae at time of appointment to American University of Beirut presidency.
1948
4 1
Item 1: American University of Beirut Outlook, regarding 1952 commencement.
1952 June 23
4 1
Item 2: Commencement program.
1950 June 26
4 1
Item 3: Commencement program.
1952 June 23
4 1
Item 4: Baccalaureate service.
1950 June
4 1
Item 5: Commencement address of Justice William O. Douglas at American University of Beirut.
1949
4 1
Item 6: Commencement remarks of Penrose.
undated
4 1
Item 7: Commencement remarks Penrose.
1950
4 1
Item 8: Baccalaureate sermon by Penrose.
1950 June
4 1
Item 9: Baccalaureate program.
1952
2 4
Item 4: Letter, Winifred Brubacher to Margaret Dale Penrose.
undated
2 8
Item 5: Article about Whitman Alumni meeting held 1952 February 16 in Beirut, Whitman Alumnus.
1952 July
2 8
Item 6: 9 fragments of letters from Margaret Dale Penrose to family
undated
6 5
Penrose Hall dedication, American University of Beirut,
1961 June 27
6 5
Item 1: Letter and remarks by Costi Zurayk regarding Penrose Hall.
1961
6 5
Item 2: Remarks made at Penrose Hall dedication by Nabih Faris.
1961 June 27
6 5
Item 3: Letter, Margaret Dale Penrose to family regarding trip to Beirut and Penrose Hall dedication.
1961 July 20
6 5
Item 4: American University of Beirut letter of appreciation for support of Penrose Hall.
1961 October
6 5
Item 5: Telegram regarding Penrose Hall dedication.
1961 June 25
6 5
Item 6: Photograph of Penrose Hall, American University of Beirut.
6 5
Item 7: Newspaper clipping regarding Penrose Hall.
1961 June
3 8
Item 1: American University of Beirut annual reports.
1951-1952; 1953-1954
4 3
Item 1: President's house, Marquand House floor plans and picture of house.
1950
4 3
Item 2: 13 invitations from and to Penrose and Margaret Dale Penrose.
1952-1954
4 3
Item 3: Penrose's personal appointment calendar.
1953
4 4
25 printed articles, regarding presidential appointment and inaugural speeches,
1948-1949
4 8
13 newspaper articles, regarding American University of Beirut discipline and policy regarding Communist student activities,
1949-1954
4 9
35 printed articles on American University in Beirut.
1929-1950
4 10
15 newspaper articles on American University in Beirut
1951-1955
4 11
Item 1: 25 newspaper and magazine articles regarding American University of Beirut.
4 11
Item 2: American University of Beirut newsletter.
1952 September
4 12
20 Dorothy Thompson columns, New York Times, on American University in Beirut.
1950 December 5-1956 January 11
3 8
Item 2: American University of Beirut personnel and student profile.
1953-1954
7 2
American University of Beirut historical information
7 3
American University of Beirut promotional material
7 4
General campus information, American University of Beirut
1952
4 13
28 American University of Beirut photographs

4:  Decorations and honors, 1946-1954Return to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box Folder
2 9
Item 1: Bronze Star citation.
1946 March 7
2 9
Item 2: Text of installation of Penrose as lay preacher, Mount Pleasant Congregational Church, Washington, D.C.
1948
2 9
Item 3: Certification as Advisor to United States delegation for Unesco conference in Beirut.
1948 November 17-1948 December 11
2 9
Item 4: Resolution of appreciation to Penrose from Syrian and Lebanese American Federation of the Eastern States.
1953 June 22
2 9
Item 5: Order of Orange Nassau, The Netherlands.
2 9
5a: Letter, Netherlands embassy to Penrose regarding Order of Orange Nassau medal to be given.
1948 July 30
2 9
5b: Order of Orange Nassau medal, rank of commander. Original document.
1948 April 15
2 9
5c: Declaration read at presentation of Order of Orange Nassau and signed by Queen Wilhelmina.
1948 April 15
2 9
5d: Letter, Penrose to acknowledge the Order of Orange Nassau medal.
1948 August 4
2 9
5e: Letter describing the Order of Orange Nassau medal.
1948 July 24
2 9
Item 6: Poland's Order of Polonia Restituta, original document.
1950 October 11
2 9
Item 7: Honorary Degree, Doctor of Laws, from Whitman College, copy.
1953 May 31
2 9
Item 8: Lebanese Order of The Cedars, copy.
1954
2 9
Item 9: Membership in The Century Association, New York City.
1954 November 4
2 9
Item 10: Award from American Lebanon Syrian Community of Los Angeles.
1953 April 26

5:  Publications on and writings of Penrose and others regarding Palestine, Arabs, and refugees., 1925-1974Return to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box Folder
4 5
26 newspaper articles, regarding Penrose's remarks on Palestine and Middle East.
1931-1951
2 12
Item 1: "The Palestine Problem: Retrospect and Prospect," by Penrose and privately printed 1951, reprinted by American Friends of the Middle East.
1954
2 12
Item 2: Memo to McNeil, "ERP and the Palestine Policy," by Penrose.
1948 January 22
2 12
Item 3: Memo to Secretary of Defense James V. Forrestal, "Outline of Possible Practical Methods for Withdrawing from the Palestine Partition Policy," by Penrose.
1948 February 14
2 12
Item 4: Draft on Palestine issue for Secretary Forrestal by Penrose.
1948 March 3
2 12
Item 5: "Situation Report: Palestine," by Penrose.
undated
2 12
Item 6: "Outline of Essential Steps in Solution to Palestine Refugee Problem," by Penrose.
1949 September 8
2 12
Item 7: "Palestine Refugee Problem." Report of the Subcommittee on the Near East and Africa Foreign Relations Committee, United States Senate.
1953 July 24
2 12
Item 8: "The Arabs Don't Love Us Any More," Reader's Digest, by Penrose
1952 June
8 1
Articles by and about Penrose for and from the Whitman alumnus,
1925-1955
4 6
Item 1: 29 newspaper articles, regarding Penrose's Remarks on Palestine and Middle East.
1952-1957
4 6
Item 2: 1 newspaper article regarding Robert Neuman and "Arab Refugees."
1957
4 7
10 newspaper articles, regarding Penrose's letters to New York Times and Washington Star and responses,
1948 May 19-1953 January 2
2 13
Item 1: Lebanon, published by Lebanese Overseas Foundation, Beirut.
2 13
Item 2: "Fly to Lebanon by MEA," promotional by Mideast Airlines with map.
2 13
Item 3: Aid to Arab Refugees from Palestine, publication by United Nations Relief and Works Agency, United Nations, Beirut.
1954
2 13
Item 4: Red Cross publication on refugee work.
2 14
Item 1: Bulletin of Institute of Arab American Affairs, Volume 3, Number 7.
1948 January 15
2 14
Item 2: "The Arab Plight in the Holy Land," by Fayez A. Sayegh. Reprint from Moody Monthly.
undated
2 14
Item 3: "The Partition of Palestine: A Lesson in Pressure Politics," by Kermit Roosevelt, article in The Middle East Journal, published by Middle East Institute, Washington, D.C.
1948 January
2 14
Item 4: "Implications of Partition," by Harold B. Hoskins, president of American University of Beirut Board of Trustees.
1948 March 23
2 14
Item 5: "Palestine: The Second Round, Ordeal by Water," by William A. Eddy, former Ambassador to Saudi Arabia.
1953 September-1953 October
2 14
Item 6: "Will the Arabs March Again?", by George H. Scherer, a series of articles, in The Date Palm newspaper, Indio, California.
1956 March 8-1956 April 19
2 14
Item 7: "Arabs vs. Israeli: A Persistent Challenge to Americans," by Joseph E. Johnson, article in The Middle East Journal, winter issue.
1964
2 14
Item 8: "The Black Paper on the Jewish Agency and Zionist Terrorism," anonymous.
undated
2 14
Item 9: "Palestine: Fundamentals," by Alford Carleton, Aleppo, Syria.
1947 September 28
2 14
Item 10: "The Partition of Palestine," by Charles R. Watson, article in The United Presbyterian.
1948 January 10
2 14
Item 11: "The Balfour Declaration: Forty Years Later," by Alfred M. Lilienthal, reprint from Issues and Conflict, University of Kansas Press.
1959
2 15
Articles from Al-Kulliyah by and about Stephen B.L. Penrose, Jr.
1948-1955

6:  Speeches and notes, 1928-1954Return to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box Folder
3 1
25 speeches, regarding Middle East and Palestine,
1947-1954
3 2
8 speeches, regarding American University of Beirut,
1948-1954
3 3
4 speeches, regarding education and Christian education,
1950-1951
3 4
6 speeches, regarding religion and Christianity,
1949-1954
3 5
4 speeches, regarding democracy and freedom,
1951-1954
3 6
10 speeches, regarding miscellaneous topics,
1928-1954
3 7
42 sets of chapel notes, American University of Beirut,
1948-1954

7:  Transcripts of interviews, 1987-1990Return to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box Folder
3 9
Item 1: Walker Cain, American University of Beirut architect, tape 95.
1990 November 14
3 9
Item 2: Gilmore Flues, OSS associate of Penrose, tapes 101 and 102.
1990 October 9
3 9
Item 3: Jane Smiley Hart, OSS associate of Penrose, tape 94.
1990 October 1
3 9
Item 4: Margaret Dale Penrose, tape 5.
1988 March 28
3 9
Item 5: Arthur Whitman, tape 84, mentions Penrose only briefly toward the end.
1990 July 25
3 9
Item 6: Margaret Dale Penrose, copies of two tapes.
1987 May 14

8:  OSS, 1928-1948, 1990Return to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box Folder
5 1
Three passports, issued 1928, 1943, and 1948.
5 2
CIA letter explaining the declassified papers from Office of Strategic Services; key to some abbreviations in the OSS letters
1990 August 21
5 3
34 OSS letters, copies, Washington, D.C.
1942 March-1943 April 19
5 4
22 OSS letters, copies, Cairo
1943 May 18-1943 October 20
5 5
13 OSS letters, copies, Washington, D.C.
1943 November-1944 January 24
5 6
18 OSS letters, copies, Cairo
1944 February 2-1944 May 28
5 7
17 photocopied OSS letters, Cairo
1944 June 11-1944 August 29
5 8
20 OSS letters, copies, Cairo
1944 September 20-1944 December 31
5 9
31 OSS letters, copies, Washington, D.C.
1945 January-1945 July 27
5 10
16 OSS letters, copies, Washington, D.C.
1945 August 2-1945 December 14
5 11
15 OSS letters, copies, Washington, D.C.
1946 February-1946 October
5 12
16 letters, including OSS job description, regarding OSS and Central Intelligence Group
1943-1948 May 13
5 13
Certificate from Armed Forces Institute, Arabic I "With Distinction,"
1942
5 14
OSS letters, copies, Washington, D.C.
1942
5 15
OSS letters, copies, Washington, D.C.
1943
5 16
OSS letters, copies, Washington, D.C.
1945
5 17
OSS letters, copies, Washington, D.C.
1943-1946

9:  Death notices, memorials, and tributes to Stephen B.L. and Margaret Dale Penrose, 1954-1978Return to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box Folder
4 14
Item 1: 19 newspaper obituary notices and funeral tributes.
4 14
Item 2: Death certificate.
1954
6 2
Letters, cables, and newspaper articles regarding funeral of Penrose; funeral tribute by Costi Zurayk, 1954 December 10; list of people sending flowers
1954
6 3
Item 1: New York memorial service program.
1955 January 19
6 3
Item 2: Guest list of memorial service.
1955 January 19
6 3
Item 33: Memorial service presentation by Daniel Bliss.
1955 January 19
6 4
Tribute, address, and remarks at the memorial service at American University of Beirut on first anniversary of Penrose's death, 1955 December 9, and article in Outlook,
1955 December 21
6 1
18 Memorial Tributes,
1954-1955
6 6
27 condolence letters A-B,
1954-1955
6 7
38 condolence letters C-F,
1954-1955
6 8
36 condolence letters G-H,
1954-1955
6 9
28 condolence letters I-L,
1954-1955
6 10
31 condolence letters M-P,
1954-1955
6 11
29 condolence letters Q-S,
1954-1955
6 12
21 condolence letters T-Z,
1954-1955
6 13
Tribute to Margaret Dale Penrose in volume 35, Number 1 Harvard Public Health Alumni Bulletin,
1978
6 14
Biographical tribute of Stephen B.L. Penrose, Jr. by Francis Copeland Stickles
Undated

10:  Writings based upon the Penrose Papers, 1993Return to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box Folder
8 2
Papers written by individuals based on research of this collection
8 2
Published pamphlet for the Stephen B.L. Penrose, Jr. Papers
1993

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Personal Names

  • Penrose, Peggy (Margaret Pressley Dale)

Corporate Names

  • American University of Beirut
  • Syrian Protestant College
  • United States. Office of Strategic Services
  • Whitman College

Family Names

  • Penrose family
  • Penrose family